1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to surgical instrumentation and more particularly to instruments and methods for accomplishing a minimally invasive saphenous vein removal or for harvesting portions of other veins for bypass grafting elsewhere in a patient's body.
2 Description of Prior Art
Saphenous veins often are harvested for use in cardiac bypass grafts (CABG) and other peripheral vascular graft procedures. Typically, an open form of surgery is utilized which includes one or more long incisions between the patient's groin and ankle. The surgeon sharply dissects the vein away from surrounding tissues and divides the branch veins extending away from the main vein. Such open vein harvesting procedures are time-consuming and result in disfiguring scars. Further, such open procedures cause significant post-operative pain and often result in post-operative infections. Therefore, new instruments and methods are needed for performing a saphenous vein removal utilizing minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques.